Judges in Contemporary Democracy

Judges in Contemporary Democracy PDF Author: Justice Stephen Breyer
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814789714
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Law, politics, and society in the modern West have been marked by the increasing power of the judge: the development of constitutional justice, the evolution of international judiciaries, and judicial systems that extend even further into social life. Judges make decisions that not only enforce the law, but also codify the values of our times. In the summer of 2000, an esteemed group of judges and legal scholars met in Provence, France, to consider the role of the judge in modern society. They included Robert Badinter, former president of the Constitutional Council in France; Stephen Breyer, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; Antonio Cassese, the first president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; Dieter Grimm, former vice president of the Constitutional Court of Germany; Gil Carlos Rodriguez, president of the Court of Justice of the European Union; and Ronald Dworkin, formerly of Oxford University, now professor of philosophy and law at the New York University Law School. What followed was an animated discussion ranging from the influence of the media on the judiciary to the development of an international criminal law to the judge's consideration of the judge's own role. Judges in Contemporary Democracy offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the powers and the role of judges in today's society.

Judges in Contemporary Democracy

Judges in Contemporary Democracy PDF Author: Justice Stephen Breyer
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814789714
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 317

Get Book

Book Description
Law, politics, and society in the modern West have been marked by the increasing power of the judge: the development of constitutional justice, the evolution of international judiciaries, and judicial systems that extend even further into social life. Judges make decisions that not only enforce the law, but also codify the values of our times. In the summer of 2000, an esteemed group of judges and legal scholars met in Provence, France, to consider the role of the judge in modern society. They included Robert Badinter, former president of the Constitutional Council in France; Stephen Breyer, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; Antonio Cassese, the first president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; Dieter Grimm, former vice president of the Constitutional Court of Germany; Gil Carlos Rodriguez, president of the Court of Justice of the European Union; and Ronald Dworkin, formerly of Oxford University, now professor of philosophy and law at the New York University Law School. What followed was an animated discussion ranging from the influence of the media on the judiciary to the development of an international criminal law to the judge's consideration of the judge's own role. Judges in Contemporary Democracy offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the powers and the role of judges in today's society.

Judges in Contemporary Democracy

Judges in Contemporary Democracy PDF Author: Justice Stephen Breyer
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814799264
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Edited by a Supreme Court Justice, these are essays on the role a judge must play in the legal process across a wide-spectrum of democracies.

Judicial Review and Contemporary Democratic Theory

Judicial Review and Contemporary Democratic Theory PDF Author: Scott E. Lemieux
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351602128
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
For decades, the question of judicial review’s status in a democratic political system has been adjudicated through the framework of what Alexander Bickel labeled "the counter-majoritarian difficulty." That is, the idea that judicial review is particularly problematic for democracy because it opposes the will of the majority. Judicial Review and Contemporary Democratic Theory begins with an assessment of the empirical and theoretical flaws of this framework, and an account of the ways in which this framework has hindered meaningful investigation into judicial review’s value within a democratic political system. To replace the counter-majoritarian difficulty framework, Scott E. Lemieux and David J. Watkins draw on recent work in democratic theory emphasizing democracy’s opposition to domination and analyses of constitutional court cases in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere to examine judicial review in its institutional and political context. Developing democratic criteria for veto points in a democratic system and comparing them to each other against these criteria, Lemieux and Watkins yield fresh insights into judicial review’s democratic value. This book is essential reading for students of law and courts, judicial politics, legal theory and constitutional law.

The Judge in a Democracy

The Judge in a Democracy PDF Author: Aharon Barak
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400827043
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
Whether examining election outcomes, the legal status of terrorism suspects, or if (or how) people can be sentenced to death, a judge in a modern democracy assumes a role that raises some of the most contentious political issues of our day. But do judges even have a role beyond deciding the disputes before them under law? What are the criteria for judging the justices who write opinions for the United States Supreme Court or constitutional courts in other democracies? These are the questions that one of the world's foremost judges and legal theorists, Aharon Barak, poses in this book. In fluent prose, Barak sets forth a powerful vision of the role of the judge. He argues that this role comprises two central elements beyond dispute resolution: bridging the gap between the law and society, and protecting the constitution and democracy. The former involves balancing the need to adapt the law to social change against the need for stability; the latter, judges' ultimate accountability, not to public opinion or to politicians, but to the "internal morality" of democracy. Barak's vigorous support of "purposive interpretation" (interpreting legal texts--for example, statutes and constitutions--in light of their purpose) contrasts sharply with the influential "originalism" advocated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. As he explores these questions, Barak also traces how supreme courts in major democracies have evolved since World War II, and he guides us through many of his own decisions to show how he has tried to put these principles into action, even under the burden of judging on terrorism.

The Judiciary and American Democracy

The Judiciary and American Democracy PDF Author: Kenneth D. Ward
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791465561
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Examines recent debates in constitutional theory in light of the work of Alexander Bickel.

The Supreme Court and Constitutional Democracy

The Supreme Court and Constitutional Democracy PDF Author: John Agresto
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501712918
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
In The Supreme Court and Constitutional Democracy John Agresto traces the development of American judicial power, paying close attention to what he views as the very real threat of judicial supremacy. Agresto examines the role of the judiciary in a democratic society and discusses the proper place of congressional power in constitutional issues. Agresto argues that while the separation of congressional and judicial functions is a fundamental tenet of American government, the present system is not effective in maintaining an appropriate balance of power. He shows that continued judicial expansion, especially into the realm of public policy, might have severe consequences for America's national life and direction, and offers practical recommendations for safeguarding against an increasingly powerful Supreme Court. John Agresto's controversial argument, set in the context of a historical and theoretical inquiry, will be of great interest to scholars and students in political science and law, especially American constitutional law and political theory.

Constitutional Judiciary in a New Democracy

Constitutional Judiciary in a New Democracy PDF Author: László Sólyom
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 9780472109654
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 444

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Book Description
Describes the decisions of the most innovative of the new constitutional courts in post Soviet Central Europe

The Judiciary and American Democracy

The Judiciary and American Democracy PDF Author: Kenneth D. Ward
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791482774
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
The role courts should play in American democracy has long been contested, fueling debates among citizens who take an active interest in politics. Alexander Bickel made a significant contribution to these debates with his seminal publication, The Least Dangerous Branch, which framed the problem of defending legitimate judicial authority. This book addresses whether or not the countermajoritarian difficulty outlined in Bickel's work continues to have significance for constitutional theory almost a half-century later. The contributors illustrate how the countermajoritarian difficulty and Bickel's response to it engage prominent theories: the proceduralisms of John Hart Ely and Jeremy Waldron; the republicanisms of Bruce Ackerman and Cass Sunstein; and the originalisms of Raoul Berger, Robert Bork, and Keith Whittington. In so doing, this book provides a useful introduction to recent debates in constitutional theory and also contributes to the broader discussion about the proper role of the courts.

Judicial Power

Judicial Power PDF Author: Christine Landfried
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108425666
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 411

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Book Description
Explores the relationship between the legitimacy, the efficacy, and the decision-making of national and transnational constitutional courts.

Judges and Politics in the Contemporary Age

Judges and Politics in the Contemporary Age PDF Author: Richard Hodder-Williams
Publisher: Bowerdean Publishing Company
ISBN: 9780906097397
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 134

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Book Description
The rise to prominence of judges may seem new to Europeans but it is of course not new to the citizens of the United States of America. 150 years ago Alexis de Tocqueville observed that there was scarcely a question which divided the American people that did not end up in the Supreme Court for resolution. Anybody interested in the interplay between the judicial and political functions of a contemporary democracy must take a good look at the United States. This book does just that. It examines how this has taken place over the last half century and asks why it has happened. It discusses the role of men like Lord Denning in Britain or Earl Warren in the United States, who had the strength of character and self-belief to challenge old orthodoxies and help usher in new values and expectations. The shifting balance between the judicial and the political institutions of government is important because it reflects important changes in our political systems. This book is intended to set the debate in a context which is readily comprehensible to any interested and intelligent citizen.